”One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”“
Luke 18:1-17 NLT
We are invited to pray to our Father—with both humility and boldness. In these verses Jesus told two stories. The first is about an unjust judge who gave justice to a woman because she was so persistent. God is not like the judge, but we are invited to follow the example of the woman and be persistent and bold in our prayers. Our boldness, though, should not lead to overconfidence in ourselves. The second story contrasts a self-righteous and condescending Pharisee with a humble tax collector who is seeking God. We are called to follow the attitude of the tax collector and be humble.
How can a person be bold and humble at the same time? By having the attitude of a child. Little children are (typically) very bold with their parents, sometimes even asking for outlandish things. We can do the same with God, our Father. Children are also (usually) humble—in their own way. Kids can obviously be selfish and think they are the best at something, but the self-worth of a little child is tied to the love of their parents. If we would live like our self-worth was based on the Father’s love, our whole world would change. We are invited to pray—and live—with humility and boldness. You are a child of God!
What does it mean for you to have “childlike” faith? How can you be more persistent and bold in your prayers?
